Richard Greatrex BSC, born in Swansea in 1947, is a Welsh cinematographer who worked in film and television for more than 30 years.
Greatrex originally trained as an electrician and worked in the trade for eight years before returning to education. While studying at university in the early 1970s, he became interested in filmmaking and began making films about the mining communities of South Wales. He subsequently spent time in Tennessee making community films and producing material for the United Mine Workers of America.
Returning to Britain, Greatrex studied cinematography at the National Film and Television School, graduating in 1980. He began his professional career shooting concerts and documentaries before moving into commercials, television and feature films. His first cinema feature was Knights & Emeralds (1986), directed by Ian Emes.
His subsequent feature work included Derek Jarman's War Requiem, For Queen and Country, Deadly Advice, Blue Juice, Mrs Brown, Shakespeare in Love, Where the Heart Is, A Knight's Tale, The Upside of Anger, Flawless and Run, Fat Boy, Run.
Greatrex received a BAFTA for his cinematography on the television film The Woman in White (1997). The following year he photographed Shakespeare in Love, directed by John Madden, earning Academy Award, BAFTA and American Society of Cinematographers nominations.
He continued to work extensively in television, with credits including Warriors, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Sons & Lovers, The Sea Wolf and the 2010 miniseries Moby Dick. His work on Warriors, directed by Peter Kosminsky, was particularly demanding, requiring an immediate and physically immersive approach to the drama's depiction of the Bosnian conflict.
Greatrex retired from cinematography after Moby Dick. He subsequently devoted himself to stills photography, applying the visual principles he had developed as a cinematographer to portraits, landscapes, travel and documentary photography. He has also undertaken photographic projects involving local communities and artisans.
His career as a cinematographer was built around storytelling rather than a signature visual style. He believed that the cinematographer's responsibility was to understand the story and the director's intentions and adapt the photography accordingly.